Karbi Anglong reels under extortion as sleuths try to recover loot in Dima Hasao

Chilonijan (Karbi Anglong), Feb. 1: If you wish to contact a government official posted here on his or her mobile phone, make sure you send them a text message introducing yourself.
Many government officials or businessmen in the hill district prefer to avoid unknown phone calls, which are often found to be from members of splinter militant groups demanding money.
"Earlier there were one or two groups which used to collect money from the rich. But now there are so many groups that they don't even spare people like us. So, we prefer to avoid unknown numbers unless we receive a text message from the person," said a state government employee here, requesting anonymity.
Many in Chilonijan said the fear of extortion has increased though two major rebel groups - United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) - have been disbanded.
Security forces have also arrested more than 60 per cent cadres of the Karbi People's Liberation Tigers (KPLT), formed by a group of KLNLF cadres, soon after the outfit disbanded in 2010.
At least seven such groups - each comprising 20-40 armed cadres - have been formed since then, with the motive to carry on extortion.
Sources said with illegal arms easily available from Dimapur in neighbouring Nagaland, young people taking up arms and forming such groups for "easy money" is becoming a worry for the people and security forces fighting the long militancy problem in Karbi Anglong.
"Some of these small groups were formed by former members of UPDS or KLNLF while some were recruited later. We have managed to arrest 66 KPLT cadres while 11 were killed in encounters in the past year. About 50 cadres are still at large, mostly in eastern part of the district and Hamren (a separate police district in Karbi Anglong). But the KPLT now has been split into five groups - KPLT (Buche group), KPLT (Pratap), KPLT (Donri), KPLT (Symbon) and KPLT (Sojong). Some of these groups have six-seven members," Karbi Anglong superintendent of police Mugdha Jyoti Mahanta said.
Security forces have arrested over 60 cadres of the KPLF, Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force, United People's Liberation Army (UPLA) and United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA).
These include at least 20 UPLA men, the outfit responsible for killing Hamren SP Nityananda Goswami and his PSO, Ratul Nunisa, in June last year.
"In some cases, cadres were found making calls to government officials and businessmen for money after their leaders were arrested and sent to jail," another source said.
The sources said pressure on the rebel groups in the hill district was stepped up after the Centre rushed additional forces following the massacre of 66 Adivasis by NDFB (Songbijit) in Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts on December 23.
In a related development, a joint team of police and the Diphu-based army unit under its Red Horns division arrested Munthir Ingti, 30, an "area commander" of KPLT, in Dokmoka last night along with two linkmen.
A pistol, 20 rounds of ammunition, Rs 50,000 in cash, four mobile phones and extortion notes of the outfit were recovered from them.